The present invention relates to a double-cassette tape recorder of a type used in a telephone answering machine.
In a conventional double-cassette tape recorder for a telephone answering machine, there are provided an announcement tape used for reproducing upon a call being received a message previously recorded, and a recording tape used for recording messages of calling parties. Such double tapes are received in two respective cassettes, and the two cassettes are disposed side by side in the lateral direction. This type of double-cassette tape recorder, which is substantially equivalent to two separate tape recorders, has the drawback that a comparatively large space for mounting the two cassettes is required.
To eliminate such a drawback, there has been proposed a tape recorder in which an announcement tape cassette and a recording tape cassette are stacked in the vertical direction and reproduction (playing the announcement tape) and recording (of messages of calling parties) are selected by sliding in the vertical direction a single assembly of a magnetic head, a pinch roller, a capstan roller, etc. Such a tape recorder is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 57-24150.
However, in such a tape recorder of the stacked cassette type, it is necessary for effecting reproduction and recording to move the two stacked cassettes integrally, and hence considerable space is required for moving the stacked cassettes upwardly and downwardly. Thus, it is not possible to make the tape recorder sufficiently small.